Monday, 9 September 2013

I had the honour of interviewing George Ross (right hand man to Donald Trump ) who is also know for his role in the television program The Apprentice.

Discussing:1. If you are not technically up to date; you are living in the middle ages.2. The importance of face to face personal relationships.3. 80/20 Principle.4. How important it is to prioritize your emails and actions within your business and life.

Saying all that: It is still not easy, but at least we know what MUST be done!

Allow us (the notebook company) help you with getting your emails prioritized, your data safe, your computing hassle free, sharing of your data streamlined - We have the same problems and understand the problems associated.The interview can bee see here:

Sunday, 14 July 2013

PC companies like Dell need to do some serious morphing and think of the PC as more of a hybrid, because the PC of 2030 –and beyond – will be a computer, a personal assistant, microphone, and an ear piece, which will talk to a “virtual computer in the cloud”.

This is according to Christopher Riley,CEO of The Notebook Company, the Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer. “Ultimately, “he said, “is that users will have access their own virtual PC in the cloud.”

He said the user would access, and store, everything in the cloud – including diary schedules. “Right now the PC already equates to a PC, a laptop and a smartphone. The blurring of the lines will get more and more blurred- and increasingly rapidly,” he said.

If a user wants to access his diary to check his meeting schedule for the day he will verbally engage with his “PC” and ask:”Susan, what is my diary schedule for the day?”. Then Susan, or Sue, or whatever the user wants to use as a nickname, the virtual PC in the cloud will reply.

“Susan, Sue, or Siri, will be like an artificial intelligent assistant (AIA)- and this is looking more and more like the future PC. This scenario,”said Riley, “is also not that far off”.

“Maybe we should call our AIA Scotty, like Scotty from that iconic science fiction movie from the 1970s, STAR TREK? And say: ‘beam me up Scotty’ ’’Riley quipped.

Thursday, 6 June 2013

The Rand is at its weakest level against the dollar in four years - and while this might be good news for South Africa’s export and manufacturing industries - this could well play havoc with prices in the computer industry, with at least one laptop retailer, The Notebook Company, saying that prices of laptops and tablets are likely to rise by 10%.

The Rand has pressed through the physiological R10 to the dollar exchange rate for the first time in four years, sparking fears that technology companies sourcing their products in dollars would have to institute increases.

“With the weakness of the Rand, we can no longer absorb our higher dollar-based costs. We will have to start increasing prices, immediately, and the price increases could be as much as 10%,” said Christopher Riley, CEO of Pretoria-based laptop and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company.

“We have been trying to absorb the currency hits, but this is no longer possible,” he said.

He said Apple iPads account for a high percentage of sales at The Notebook Company, so the need to increase prices by as much as 10% was “not a decision taken lightly”.

It is expected that many technology companies – certainly those who deal in dollars – are going to have to increase prices, across the board, said Riley.

“Few companies will be able to absorb the weakness of the Rand – and this, too, might not be an overnight thing.”

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

The Notebook Company, the Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer – which recently announced the opening of a consumables division - has promised its clients the cheapest ink, toner and paper costs in the industry.

This was confirmed by Christopher Riley, CEO of The Notebook Company, who said: “People talk about putting your money where your mouth is, but what about putting blood where you mouth is?”

“The rationale behind this standpoint”, added Riley “is that if we don’t save our clients money then I will personally donate a unit of blood for every case brought to my attention”.

Riley said the cost of consumables has become “exorbitant”. “I believe we can save our clients thousands of Rands a year in the costs of ink, toner and paper.

“It’s crazy to acknowledge, but printer ink costs more than human blood.”

He said the investment in the new consumer division has not been significant as it will be piggy-backing off the company’s existing infrastructure.

“Besides this expedient factor, because the new consumables business is not our core focus, it enables us to come into the market on a competitive footing – and offer our clients really pencil-sharpened prices. We don’t have to make big profits from this division. It is a value added offering – which, in itself – will bring its own business benefits. We are not hunting for market-winning margins,” he said. “But If I do not save my clients money – and there are complaints – I will stick to my promise of donating a unit of blood for each complaint.”

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

The Notebook Company, the Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer – and one of the biggest sellers of Apple iPads in the country (which manages the online sites www.notebook.co.za and www.laptop.co.za) – has announced the opening of a consumables division.

Said Christopher Riley, CEO of The Notebook Company: “We are always looking at value added services to offer our clients and we believe this is a good move for us - by expanding into the cartridge and toner business. There is a big demand from our client base for this service and we therefore made a decision to diversify our market focus. The consumables divisions is already up and running,” said Riley.

Commenting further, Riley said that, besides “satisfying current clients”, the company hopes to attract new clients via its consumables division – and hopes that they will become “notebook and tablet buyers as well”.

“This will definitely generate a new revenue stream for us. The investment has not been huge as we already have the infrastructure in place. Besides this positive factor, because this is not our core focus, it enables us to come into the market on a competitive footing – and offer our clients really pencil-sharpened prices. We don’t have to make big profits from this division. It is a value added offering – which, in itself – will bring its own business benefits. We are not hunting for market-winning margins,” he said.

The Notebook Company, one of South Africa’s leading retailers of notebooks and accessories, believes there might be an increase in the sale of laptops during the second quarter due to the fact that there will be a “full range of laptops entering the market, running Windows 8 – which might just create a slight increase in sales”.This is according to Christopher Riley, MD of The Notebook Company, who said his company is expecting a 20% increase in laptop sales during the second quarter.“It’s very possible that people were holding back on purchases, not really knowing what to buy before Windows 8 had worked its way into the market – and shown what its performance rating is. Additionally, it is also branded laptop ranges that are entering the market, running Windows 8. If people were holding onto their Windows 7 machines to see what the market was going to do– to see if Windows 8 got bad reviews or not – they might now be inclined to jump in and go for a new laptop with Windows 8 “In Fact,” said Riley, “we were, until recently, advising clients to hold any purchases – and to stick to their Windows 7 platform – to see what would happen with Windows 8, so that they could make an informed decision.”

Thursday, 2 May 2013

The tablet market is arguably one of the most fiercely competitive marketplaces in the world, with a number of the world’s biggest companies fighting for market share. But, while Apple iPad has been the clear leader since the tablet market started in full force in 2010, its lead is about to be eclipsed by Google’s Android devices.

This is according to Christopher Riley, CEO of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – and one of South Africa’s leading sellers of Apple iPads.

“We are seeing some pretty distinct market shifts and Apple’s heydays as the hands-down leader in the tablet market seem numbered,” said Riley.

IDC has already reported that shipments of tablets running Google’s Android operating system will surpass Apple this year for the first time. “There are a growing variety of smaller and cheaper Android-driven tablets from Google to Amazon.com, which are really becoming increasingly popular with consumers. It’s not just the tablet market where Apple seems to be losing traction,” said Riley. “Samsung, arguably Apple’s biggest rival, is coming to market with a slew of tech-savvy and funky tablet and iPhone solutions, which are starting to take a bite of Apple’s market.”
Samsung’s fourth generation of its flagship Galaxy is about to hit the market and it is this range of smartphones that knocked Apple off its pedestal as the world’s number one supplier for part of last year.
“There is a lot of market anticipation for the new Samsung Galaxy,” said Riley, “and we could very likely see more inroads this year.”

While Apple might be facing more competition, Riley said he still believes that iPad sales will be the main contributor to The Notebook Company’s total revenue for the year. “For the past two years Apple iPad sales have been our main sales line.

" This is changing and, therefore, we are also offering a wide range of Android devices. We are also suggesting big name brands when clients are looking at Android devices. We have offered low-end no-name tablets before, but we always warn clients that it is a case of ‘you get what you pay for’”

In the meanwhile, the shine seems to be coming off Apple, with its share price being the first to show this – losing more than one-third of its value since hitting a high last September.

Microsoft’s long-awaited – and much-touted – Surface tablet is due to hit South Africa’s shores within the next few months and, while it is expected to lift the already high level of competition in the tablet market, sales are unlikely to be huge, said Christopher Riley, the founder of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company, one of the biggest sellers of the Apple iPad.

Riley said Apple is currently facing elevated competition from Android-driven tablet devices – which are generally cheaper than the iPad – as well as from an invigorated Samsung, whose tablet sales have risen meteorically in recent months.

“Apple’s share of the global marketplace has fallen from 51,7% to 43%, while Samsung’s has doubled from 7,3% to 15%. The arrival of Microsoft’s tablet in South Africa isn’t going to make a huge impact. Microsoft has lost too much traction over the last three years and the entrance of the long-awaited Surface is just that – it is long-awaited. It is late – and Microsoft has arguably lost its chance to become a core player in the tablet market.

“It is being touted as a great tablet from a price/performance perspective. Of course, time will tell. But I don’t believe they will be big sellers locally.”

Commenting further, Riley said that while Apple iPad sales still account for the lion’s share of the company’s revenue, sales have dropped in recent months as other tablets become more popular, including the Samsung devices.

The Microsoft Surface will be available in both Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 RT (run time) versions.

Thursday, 11 April 2013

Apple, the incumbent “king of the tablet”, is under threat from Samsung as it saw its slice of the worldwide tablet pie falling from 51,7% to 43,6%, while Samsung’s spurred upwards from 7,3% to 15%.

It might not yet be time to worry, but, according to Christopher Riley, the CEO of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – and one of the largest sellers of Apple iPads - Apple’s heydays in the iPad market “might well be over”.

“They are certainly not down and out, buy there is certainly increased completion of late, including a big jump in popularity by Samsung – and an increase in competition from Android-based tablets.

“The importance of recent sales statistics – as gleaned from MIRROR NEWS – show that Samsung’s market share has effectively doubled, while Apples has declined. These are the facts on the table right now. It also seems certain that Samsung will further increase its market share as the year progresses.”

Sales of Samsung Galaxy tablets made the 7.9 million mark in the last quarter of 2012, compared with just 2.2 million in the entire 2011 – according to research firm IDC.

“There is a strong move upwards,” said Riley. “even though Apple is still the best selling tablet, with a comparative sales figure of 22.9 million.”

Additionally, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphone outsold the iPhone for the first time over the Christmas season, reporting a total of 18 million sales compared to Apple’s 16.2 million.

“All around, Apple is facing more competition,” said Riley.

He added that he is also noticing a “definite swing” towards more sales of Samsung and Android-driven tablets.

“Apple’s iPads are still our top seller. But we are seeing increased interest in other tablets, something that started during the latter part of last year.”

Friday, 8 March 2013

As the consumer continues to battle with over indebtedness, price/performance is becoming a bigger issue, with end users looking far more closely at specifications to ensure that they do not pay too much by “buying features they will not use”.

This is according to Christopher Riley, CEO of Pretoria-based laptop and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company –and one of the biggest suppliers of Apple iPads.

“End users are really doing their homework and they are not ‘over-buying’ as much as they used to in the past. Users traditionally have the habit of buying laptops, and technology, that they will never completely utilize. People generally buy laptops, from a spec point of view, that they will never fully utilize. They might use 60% of the specs and features, meaning, in effect, that they are actually overpaying. But during the first quarter of this year, we have seen a definite trend where users are becoming far more discerning. They are looking more closely at the specs and features of their purchases, looking at it from a stricter ‘what features do I really need’ scenario.”

Riley said that while the sale of Apple iPads had currently dropped “around 40%”for the first quarter of the year, there had been a surge in the sale of Acer and Lenovo laptops.

“Looking at the semi professional market we have sold a lot of Acer laptops. Spec and price is the main reason because users seem to think they are getting good bang for their buck. When it comes to the graphics and gaming market, Lenovo seems to have the edge on other products right now – also from a features and price/performance perspective.

“It will be interesting to see if Apple iPad sales increase in the second quarter of the year. We were predicting a drop in sales for the first quarter, but it looks like sales are going to drop by as much as 40% - which is far higher than we thought. One of the reasons for this drop could be that the iPad market is slightly saturated and that people are still recovering from overspending over the festive season. Additionally, Apple has introduced so many new products and models to the market over the past six months that it may have caused a certain amount of confusion – and it also might have cannibalized overall Apple sales as users who might have bought iPads have opted for other products.

“But, despite this,” said Riley, “we are expecting a pick-up in iPad sales during the second and third quarters; but I don’t think it will achieve the heights we reached in 2011 and 2012.”

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Apple, the incumbent “king of the tablet”, is under threat from Samsung as it saw its slice of the worldwide tablet pie falling from 51,7% to 43,6%, while Samsung’s spurred upwards from 7,3% to 15%.

It might not yet be time to worry, but, according to Christopher Riley, the CEO of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – and one of the largest sellers of Apple iPads - Apple’s heydays in the iPad market “might well be over”.

“They are certainly not down and out, buy there is certainly increased completion of late, including a big jump in popularity by Samsung – and an increase in competition from Android-based tablets.

“The importance of recent sales statistics – as gleaned from MIRROR NEWS – show that Samsung’s market share has effectively doubled, while Apples has declined. These are the facts on the table right now. It also seems certain that Samsung will further increase its market share as the year progresses.”

Sales of Samsung Galaxy tablets made the 7.9 million mark in the last quarter of 2012, compared with just 2.2 million in the entire 2011 – according to research firm IDC.

“There is a strong move upwards,” said Riley. “even though Apple is still the best selling tablet, with a comparative sales figure of 22.9 million.”

Additionally, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphone outsold the iPhone for the first time over the Christmas season, reporting a total of 18 million sales compared to Apple’s 16.2 million.

“All around, Apple is facing more competition,” said Riley.

He added that he is also noticing a “definite swing” towards more sales of Samsung and Android-driven tablets.

“Apple’s iPads are still our top seller. But we are seeing increased interest in other tablets, something that started during the latter part of last year.”

Thursday, 28 February 2013

The Notebook Company, the Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer – and one of the biggest suppliers of Apple iPads in South Africa – reports that sales of iPads are down 40% for the first two months of the year, compared to the same period last year.

This is according to Christopher Riley, MD of The Notebook Company, who said he had predicted the drop in iPad sales as consumers had over-spent over the festive season and their indebtedness is on the increase. He noted, however, that sales of laptops were only slightly down on the first two months of 2013.

“We were expecting a slow quarter this year. In addition, Apple has introduced a slew of products which has led to a certain amount of confusion in the market. They have also, in a manner of speaking, cannibalized their product range by bringing out too many products perhaps – products that compete for market share.”

He said he expects an improvement in sales during the second quarter, but said he was not expecting any “major upturn” during March.

“We had a very good run with iPad sales during the past three years. They are probably at their lowest point for us right now. We are currently focusing more attention on our traditional line of other branded laptops,” said Riley.

Thursday, 21 February 2013

China is now the biggest market for smartphones and tablets, said Christopher Riley, MD of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – and one of the biggest suppliers of Apple iPads in South Africa.

“Right now China is reporting the highest number of active iOS and Android devices. Additionally, it is among one of the fastest growing markets in terms of the adoption of smart devices. Obviously, China is a huge market – but it has now also proven that it is a quick adopter of the latest technology,” said Riley.

Until the end of January 2013 the USA came in as the number one smartphone and tablet market with 222 active smart phone devices, followed by 221 million in China. But it is thought that, by mid-February, China nudged ahead of the USA.

“The percentage penetration is naturally higher in the USA due to the population comparisons, but China’s uptake is quite spectacular.”

China has a population of around 1.3 billion people, compared to the USA’s population of about 310 million people.

“Interestingly,” said Riley, “India, with a population of around 1.2 billion people, only has 19 million active smart device users. This points to an affordability issue and the state of the haves and the have-nots in that country, more than likely,” said Riley.

As the demand for more data and storage continues unabated Apple is poised to bring out an Apple iPad with storage space of 128 gigabytes, up from the current 16, 32 and 64 gigabyte versions, said Christopher Riley, managing director of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – and one of the biggest sellers of Apple iPads in the country.

“You would think people would go for less storage, what with the advent of cloud computing and icloud storage capabilities. But it seems, despite the cloud, that people want more storage capacity – hence Apple’s decision to move to market with a 128 GB unit.”

Riley said people tend to “over-buy” frequently and buy computers with features that they don’t often use – “well, not all the features, and certainly not all the capacity”.

“This,” he said, “seems to be a continuing trend. But, with the rapidly increasing demand for more and more data, storage space is becoming a concern. Rather than look to the cloud, consumers are still wanting this capacity directly from their equipment.”

Riley said storage space on tablets could reach 1 terabyte within the next three to five years.

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

The current infusion of Apple products being introduced onto the market is causing confusion, which, at the end of the day does not auger well for the second most valuable company in the world. Because, when consumers are confused, they are cautions when it comes to buying.

This is according to Christopher Riley, managing director of laptop and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – one of the biggest local sellers of the Apple iPad tablet range.

“Apple is in danger of confusing the market,” said Riley. “It might be the leading seller of tablets, but the current rash of product launches – and the confusion with iPad tablet names – is not good for business at the end of the day.

“When the Apple iPad 3 came onto the market it was called the New iPad. Then, when the Apple iPad 4 was introduced it was called the New iPad with retina display. But the problem,” said Riley, “is that the iPad 3 – called the New iPad – also has retina display.

“But it doesn’t stop there. Apple, which was dethroned as the most valuable company recently by Mobil Exxon, has also introduced the iPad mini. Some consumers – certainly some of my customers – think this is actually the iPad 4.

“When consumers are confused they tend to halt, or stall, purchase decisions because they don’t want to come across as stupid. Also, the sales cycle is a lot longer because retailers, like ourselves, have to explain things to customers in more detail – or customers have more questions. This extends the sales cycle.”

Apple starts to report slowing profits

Meanwhile, at the end of last month Apple’s share price started nosing southwards, falling to $439,88 – giving it a market capitalisation of $413 billion (R3.6 trillion), compared to oil behemoth Exxon Mobile, who clocked in with a market value of $418 billion. Apple first superseded Exxon Mobil in August 2011 as the most valuable corporation based on the value of its stock. A year later it toppled arch rival Microsoft as the most valuable firm in the world in history with its stock valued at $622 billion.

But Apple has started to see its inner core bruising after a somewhat dull forecast accompanying its record quarterly profits, which pointed to a possibly less stellar growth. Despite a record quarterly profit investors got cagey after hearing that gross margins further down the line would be 37,5% to 39,5% lower than expectations.

To get a clearer picture of the more gloomy prognosis one has to cast one’s mind back to when Apple’s stock price hit more than $700 a share . This was reached in September last year, but, since that zenith, the price has dropped by 37% . The company also shed $60 billion in market capitalisation.

The Notebook Company’s Riley said some market analysts are postulating that Apple is losing its edge due to a dip in innovation since the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. There are also tangible signs that it is losing traction to Samsung, which now leads the smartphone market, and to others using Google’s Android operating system.

Despite Apple’s stellar performance in the past it is questionable whether it will be able to maintain the margins it is accustomed to. With the possibility of smartphone price wars Apple’s traditional market positon of holding the high ground with premium products aimed at the high end of the market may bite deeper and deeper into profits from each device sold.

“But although Apple is receiving some negative press currently, it must be remembered that the tallest trees attract the most wind velocity. Apple has reached such heights these past few years that the wind velocity they are encountering is pretty fearsome.

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

It is expected that more than 240 million tablet PCs will be shipped during 2013, effortlessly surpassing the 207 million notebook PCs projected to ship during the year, said Christopher Riley, managing director of laptop and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company.

“We are also witnessing this trend at The Notebook Company,” said Riley, “and have been since the introduction of the first Apple iPad.”

He confirmed that the company is currently selling more tablets than laptops – a trend it expects to carry on “into the future”.

According to market research firm NPD Group DisplaySearch, tablet shipments are projected to grow 64% in 2013 compared to 2012.

“Projections are also being made,” said Riley, “that, by 2017, nearly three tablets will be sold to every one laptop.

“In fact,” Riley quipped, “the name of the company – The Notebook Company – is now essentially misleading, as we sell more tablets than notebooks.”

But Riley said while sales of laptops might be under pressure the company is hoping to increase its business as a “lot of clients will be looking to make a switch to laptops rather than upgrading or buying new desktops”.

He believes this could turn into a “fairly big” market for the company over the next 12 – 24 months.

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Demand for laptops will be weak during the first quarter of the year, and this is not only because of the market share being stolen by tablets, said Christopher Riley, managing director of laptop and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – and one of the biggest local sellers of the Apple iPad tablet range.

Riley said it is “important to remember” that laptop demand – not counting netbooks – was already moving downwards before the tablet industry caught fire.

Riley said it appears that the general consensus among market watchers is that first quarter of 2013 will not witness an upsurge in laptop demand. In fact, he said, it could be an ever less lucrative quarter for notebook markets than usual.

“Generally, the first quarter of the year is a slow season due to the fact that many people are still recovering from the spending sprees of the festive season. Adding to the challenges, this year notebook vendors will have to content with Windows 7 notebook oversupply, pressing many to offer as many price cuts as is possible. Installing Windows 8 on units will help somewhat, but it must be remembered that many owners of Windows XP/Vista and 7 systems are probably not yet ready for performance upgrades. They might even opt to buy a new phone or a tablet instead of a PC.”

But Riley said that while there will be pressures on laptop sales, the popularity of tablets will continue. “Apple iPads will continue to outsell our range of laptops during the first quarter of this year,” said Riley, “and, frankly, I see this continuing into the year.”

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We pay you back R200 per month for doing the following1. Take a photo of yourself with your laptop or iPad2. Write a description of more than 30 words and less than 100explaining how our laptop or iPad is making your life better - or what you are busy doing with it.3. Post the photo with the description to your Facebook wall (>50 friends) and http://www.facbook.com/thenotebookcompanyConditions:The postings has to happen between the 20th and 25th of each month to receive your R200 by the 5th of the following month, if you do not post in time or lapse one month our monthly R200 to you stops- you will still be liable for your Vodacom contract ~ follow the rules and your new laptop and Internet will only cost you R99pm)